The word, which seems to have been in every story about the world’s troubled economies this year, became the reference publisher’s most looked-up word thanks to the policies of euro zone countries following the European Union debt crises, which forced many EU member states to drastically cut government programs and social safety nets.

Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.

27 Responses to “Merriam-Webster’s most searched word in 2010: Austerity”

I am not sure that the internet is a contrary indicator as opposed to TV, radio and print media. Rather, internet chatter may be a prelude or prediction. see, Web Bot Project. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Bot
In any event, I can’t wait to find out.

@Julia Chestnut
I guess a significant part of the hits were generated by non-native speakers. Before the crisis it was seldom used in pop culture, not taught at schools and the etymology is non-obvious. It was one of the few words I had to look up.

I personally typed it into the popular word search site Merriam-Webster, and would have scribbled some notes in the margin of my Merrian Webster dictionary with my quill pen except a bunch of powder fell from my wig.

I work with plenty of native English speakers who have college degrees that could not use “austerity” in a sentence if you paid them. It must not show up on too many reality shows, ball games or home shopping networks.

Are we surprised that 25% of kids trying to enlist in the military can’t pass the entrance exam.

Forget the shock concerning literacy and focus for now on the shock of the economic predicament that (so it seems) compels oodles of people to look up the dreaded word in the dictionary. And, once they have learned the definition of Austerity, do you honestly believe that they then go out and spend and spend to crank up the sickly economy? No? So how can this be a Bullish indicator?

What “Austerity” does point to is export of Stupid Economics ( http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine ) as espoused by a set of Rich Crackpot’s, the Bilderberg group?, attempting to Destroy Europe’s Successful Social ( Risk Management ) programs for the bottom 99%, so they can justify further wealth transfer from poor to rich, in America.

With Europe looking like a literal Heaven On Earth, compared to the American Work Camps, with Europe running Successful Capitalistic Systems without Worker Proverty, this Successful Example cannot be allowed to stand out, to entice the American Public to demand better conditions, and a better life for their offspring.

Austerity being the opposite of stimulus bodes ill for the economy of any country that decides now is the time for it. Just when I thought the Republican economic idiots were going to curse us with some of it, (remember how they were going to slash the deficit?) they go and pass another mediocre stimulus bill to keep us limping along. Go figure.

As in Paul Krugman style warnings, “Austerity is the road to repeating the Great Depression,” or the growing chorus “Austerity will be the death of Europe” etcetera.

When political leaders cut spending and take harsh measures, they use positive phrases like sobriety and fiscal prudence.

So it would seem logical — help me see how this is backwards — that a high frequency of “austerity” searches is actually more a win for the Krugmanesque camp… austerity being culturally appropriated as bad policy and an economic dirty word.

The “Republicans” did do it, to the states.
It was there best effort to keep a recovery from happening, before the elections, so that they could transfer blame for Catastrophic Failure of Rampant Wall Street Fraud to the Democrats.

Why is it “Republicans” are always saying America is “Number One”, and then Lay Off Teachers?

If you really believed in Capitalism and the Free-Market, you’d Double Teacher Salary( to attract the Best Teachers ), while Doubling Teacher Count, and make American Elementary and Secondary Schools the Best in the World.

Is the answer that the right wing is controlled by, hmmm, Barry will delete this entry if I’m too descriptive, millionaires with low IQ scores? So, giving the public a good education puts these people at risk of More Competition in the Marketplace? Is the a form of Monopoly Control?

… when you make most of your income from capital movements, our tax code has been structured to permit one to escape nearly all taxation … not losing the Bush no-tax gravy train is a tremendous stimulus to the only people who matter in D.C. … there will be some fantastic partying come New Year’s Eve …

Austerity – an opportunity for change, hopefully not to be wasted. More things become negotiable (public pensions in NJ, benefits, fed payroll tax, etc.) And of course there are people that believe a government’s budget should always be austere.

To Cap’n (Captain Jack): I’ll agree, austerity as pejorative.

And anyone who doesn’t know bailout probably didn’t have a boat. It doesn’t have to be big – kayaks are neat, not noisy, and good for exercise, too. (BR: You missed power boats in your holiday gifts, by the way).

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Ritholtz has been observing capital markets with a critical eye for 20 years. With a background in math & sciences and a law school degree, he is not your typical Wall St. persona. He left Law for Finance, working as a trader, researcher and strategist before graduating to asset managementRead More...

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